In the Spotlight: Our president needs a foreign policy compass

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By John Bernardi

Journal Star

By John Bernardi

Posted May. 2, 2014 at 7:50 PM
Updated May 2, 2014 at 7:54 PM

By John Bernardi

Posted May. 2, 2014 at 7:50 PM
Updated May 2, 2014 at 7:54 PM

President Obama has been accused, fairly or unfairly, of indecision if not outright cowardice in dealing with the increasing aggression of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the former KGB intelligence officer with a vision of rebuilding the U.S.S.R. The question is: Do we want our president to be a bare-chested macho man like the Russian gladiator, or a pensive, soft-talking mealy mouth?

Judging the testosterone levels of these two leaders is not the way to conduct foreign policy. Until we decide what role we see for ourselves in the lives and freedoms and aspirations of other people throughout the world, our course will continue to be driven by the personalities of our leaders and how they interact with one another. Without a clearly defined foreign policy, the people of this country have no way to judge whether our leaders are following the proper course of action. Without a clearly defined foreign policy, our friends are fearful, and our enemies are emboldened.

Our Founders had some experience with war and with the vagaries of dealing with other nations. They were pretty much unanimous in their advice: Mind our own business, be friendly to all, do not pick sides, be a trading nation. The Founders are gone, but many of our veterans are still with us. The stories they are willing to share of the horrors of war are simply unimaginable. The all-too-frequent pictures of our seriously injured soldiers are a peek into this hell.

On the other side of the debate, we have historians to remind us what happens when bullies are not made to stand down. Winston Churchill was likened to the boy who cried “wolf” until the wolf was at the door and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was assuring the rest of Europe that Hitler was not the wolf. Could World War II have been avoided if the madman had been confronted early on, when he cast aside the Treaty of Versailles and began his assault by marching into the Rhineland?

The universal goal is peace, but peace at what price? Are we willing to surrender our freedoms to preserve the peace? Are we prepared, as our early ancestors were, to die for the right to pursue our dreams? What moral responsibility do we have to share our beliefs and our values with those born outside our own borders?

These are difficult questions, but ignoring them will not make it easier for our president, whoever it is. It will not make it better for our friends, whoever they are. It will not make the wolf go away.

John Bernardi is an attorney and former public defender in Tazewell County. Previously a resident of Pekin, he now calls Galena home.